Qi Xia watched as Chu Tianqiu delayed choosing his second person, and became somewhat interested.

“What’s wrong?” He turned his head and said, “I’ve even left ‘Chen Junnan’ for you. Are these three characters so difficult to write?”

“Chen Junnan…?” Chu Tianqiu chuckled softly. “Qi Xia, what kind of joke are you playing with me?”

“What kind of joke is this?” Qi Xia asked back. “We can only choose one person each time. Now I’ve left Chen Junnan outside, so you can take him right away. He’s not the same as Qiao Jiajin. Qiao Jiajin would choose to go to his death, but Chen Junnan should agree directly. If my left and right arms join your team, what am I supposed to do?”

“It’s precisely because he would agree that things are so tricky.” Chu Tianqiu said. “Once Chen Junnan joins my team, I can hardly imagine how this team could remain stable, nor do I know how this game could proceed.”

“Oh…?” Qi Xia pretended not to understand. “Is Chen Junnan that formidable?”

“What do you think?” Chu Tianqiu said. “Having someone skilled in ‘psychological warfare’ and ‘causing disruption’ join my team is not a good thing at all.”

After speaking, he extended his hand and decisively wrote down the three characters “Jin Yuanxun.”

Chu Tianqiu completely understood Qi Xia’s thinking. No matter what, Qi Xia couldn’t possibly write “Chen Junnan” in the first round, because doing so would be equivalent to leaving himself the opportunity to write “Qiao Jiajin.”

When Qiao Jiajin learned that it was Chu Tianqiu who had chosen him, he would definitely refuse, and Qi Xia would lose a great general.

So he deliberately left “Chen Junnan” behind. This kind of person made no difference in whichever camp he was in—he would definitely be on Qi Xia’s side.

The Earth-Dragon once again turned around to open the door, and outside was Jin Yuanxun.

After explaining the situation, Jin Yuanxun walked through the door without hesitation.

Qi Xia naturally knew that Jin Yuanxun was more loyal to Chu Tianqiu and would make the team more stable.

Jin Yuanxun possessed considerable skills and had the fairly strong “Leap” Echo. He was taciturn, not easily swayed, and would unconditionally follow orders—a formidable opponent.

“Please, go ahead.” Chu Tianqiu said expressionlessly.

Qi Xia extended his hand and slowly wrote down the three characters “Chen Junnan.” The Earth-Dragon also turned around to open the door.

What made the three people in the pitch-black space feel slightly awkward was that in just a short while, Chen Junnan had found a corner and was using the bathroom with his back to the door.

He whistled while busying himself with his head down for quite a while, then calmly turned around and was instantly startled.

A pitch-black portal lit up behind him, with “Chen Junnan Receive the Order” written in red characters.

“Oh geez…!!”

He hastily reached down to pull up his pants, then in a panic reached out to cover the door. After thinking it over and feeling that wasn’t right, he covered his face instead.

“Wait, wait a minute! Don’t photograph me! I’m not ready!”

The three people inside the door looked at him expressionlessly. The atmosphere was somewhat awkward.

The Earth-Dragon pursed her lips and said irritably, “Commander ‘Qi Xia’ has appointed ‘Chen Junnan’ to enter ‘Cangjie Chess’ as reinforcement. To accept the order, please walk into the portal. To refuse, please step back five paces.”

Chen Junnan blinked, turned his head to look at the wet wall behind him, then pointed at the light portal and cursed, “Step back? Does your daddy even have anywhere to step back to?! Go ask Old Qi if he’s targeting me! Choosing this exact moment to force me into a corner with no retreat, right? Not even giving me a bit of privacy?!”

The portal remained quiet and silent.

“Damn it, everyone else either enters the door or steps back, but your daddy either enters the door or steps in piss. Is there any justice left?”

Chen Junnan walked forward two steps, stared at the portal and said, “Old Qi? Old Qi, say something! Don’t pull that King of Hell routine with me here. Life or death, give me a sign!”

Before Qi Xia could speak, the Earth-Dragon couldn’t help but say, “Hey, can you pull up your pants first?”

Chen Junnan was stunned, as if he hadn’t expected this light portal could actually converse. He quickly turned around to fix his pants properly, and a few seconds later reached up to fix his hair before turning back around, cursing and grumbling:

“You’re kidding me… is there really a girl watching me…?”

He sighed helplessly, stopped talking, and directly threw himself into the portal.

Qi Xia also knew that whether or not to choose Chen Junnan wasn’t that important, after all, Chu Tianqiu would definitely not incorporate him into his own team.

But he also didn’t know what the situation in the “Preparation Area” was exactly. At this moment, leaving Qiao Jiajin alone there was somewhat inappropriate.

Chen Junnan was fairly sharp-minded. He could let him explain the situation to Qiao Jiajin in the “Preparation Area.”

And what came next for the two of them… would be the real “Appointing Generals,” because the “must-choose” figures had basically all been positioned.

Qi Xia naturally had quite a few people to choose from, but he also needed to see how Chu Tianqiu would make his decision first.

Since he was acting as the “second mover,” he should try to make sure the people selected could counter each other effectively.

Both of them currently had a “backup card” waiting outside the venue—namely Wen Qiaoyun and Yan Zhichun.

These two people, each serving as chess pieces, had their respective uses.

If Wen Qiaoyun didn’t enter the venue, then Chu Tianqiu couldn’t awaken. If Yan Zhichun remained outside, then the “Extreme Path’s” faith wouldn’t be firm.

Now, including the three people who had already entered the venue, both sides would select three more people each. If the two “chess pieces” were counted, then they only needed to select three more people.

Chu Tianqiu’s expression clearly became hesitant. The names written next would not be people he trusted one hundred percent, and there would be many more things to consider.

“In that case…”

…

Doctor Zhao and Han Yimo were walking down the street with the crowd, both their expressions somewhat puzzled.

“Doctor Zhao… where are we going…?” Han Yimo asked.

“That woman named Jiang Ruoxue told us this morning…” Doctor Zhao answered with a helpless expression. “If we want to carry out the task discussed last night, we need to follow the crowd when people start moving.”

“But this way we don’t look like ‘Saviors’ at all…” Han Yimo said with a frown. “We’re mixing in with the crowd, it looks like we’re supporting characters…”

As the two were talking, a black light portal suddenly appeared before Doctor Zhao’s eyes, with “Zhao Haibo Receive the Order” written prominently in the center.

This scene frightened them both into freezing in place, but the many pedestrians around them merely glanced at it indifferently, as if they were already accustomed to seeing such bizarre occurrences. They only paused for a few seconds before leaving one after another.

“Damn…” Han Yimo cursed softly. “Those people are acting like they’re battle-hardened veterans… what are they pretending for?”

Doctor Zhao had no time to pay attention to this, only staring at the light portal before him with frequent frowns. “Han Yimo… didn’t you say you understood this place? What is this thing…?”